I want to start by saying this is not something Ricky and Tara would have ever asked for on their own. For 19 years, they have handled everything that has come their way. Surgery after surgery. Hospital stay after hospital stay. They have made sacrifices quietly and trusted God through all of it.

Recently, I was at a small fundraiser for Maverick put together by Superior Championship Wrestling. Watching that night unfold and seeing the love and support in the room really made me stop and think, what else can we do? How can I help in a bigger way?

This time is different.

A combined heart and liver transplant is not a short hospital stay. It means extended travel, long days in the hospital, weeks or even months away from normal life, and significant financial strain.

Sometimes the strongest families are the ones who struggle most to ask for help. So I am asking for them.

Below, Ricky and Tara share Maverick’s story in their own words.

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Our son Maverick is 19 years old.

He was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. At 4 days old, we handed him to surgeons for his first open heart surgery. Watching your child get wheeled down a hallway into the unknown is something you never forget.

We did it again at 8 months. Again at 2 years old. And now we are facing it again at 19.

At 8, Maverick developed complete heart block and needed a pacemaker. In October 2024, he had another open heart surgery to replace it.

In December 2025, he went into atrial fibrillation. After further testing, we were told he now needs a combined heart and liver transplant.

We are currently being evaluated at Cleveland Clinic and next Duke University as we search for a hospital willing to take on his complex case.

For 19 years, we have carried this ourselves. We adjusted our lives around hospital stays. We made sacrifices. We paid the bills. We trusted God and kept moving forward.

But this time is different.

A transplant means extended travel, long hospital stays, months away from normal life, and ongoing medical expenses before and after surgery.

If you feel led to support Maverick, we are grateful. Every gift helps.

If you cannot give, please pray. Pray for wisdom for the doctors. Pray for strength for Maverick. Pray for peace in our home.

From Tara and I, thank you for standing with our son as we walk into the hardest season we have faced.